Cebu in Central Visayas is in the center of the Philippines archipelago. It is bounded on the north by the Visayan Sea, on the east by the Camotes Sea, on the west by the Taņon Strait, and on the southeast by the Bohol Strait. Cebu City, with an area 329 sq. km and a population of over 610,000, and Mandaue City, with an area 33 sq. km and a population 180,285 are highly urbanized cities.

Cebu City, the regional capital of Central Visayas, lies at the heart of the Philippine archipelago, 365 miles south of Manila. Located midway on the East Coast of Cebu Island, it is bounded on the
north by Mandaue City, on the south by the Municipality of Talisay and on the west by Toledo City and Balamban. Cebu City has a total land area of 328.80 square kilometers (32.880 hectares). The island itself, is about 250 kilometers north to south, and just under 50 kilometers across. The total area of the Island of Cebu is around 5,000 square kilometers.

Along the coast, the terrain is relatively flat, accounting for 15% of the total area. This becomes rolling and hilly at elevations of 40 to 200 meters above sea level, then, turns generally rugged and mountainous at elevations of 200 to almost 1000 meters. Natural barriers protect the city from rough elements.

Along its northwestern rim lay the mountain ranges of Cebu, while on the opposite side, Mactan Island protects the city harbor from strong winds. Three rivers in the city, Guadalupe, Lahug and Kinalumsan all serve as natural flood drains.

The city is politically divided into 80 barangays, which are clustered into two congressional districts. The North District with 46 barangays and the more densely populated South District, with 34 barangays. Although the city is predominantly urban, 1 of its 80 barangays (38%) is located in the uplands. Pleasant weather generally prevails over metropolitan Cebu. It is seldom visited by typhoons, being outside the typhoon belt.

Would you like
to learn the language spoken in Cebu and elsewhere
in the Visayas and Mindanao Regions of the
Philippines? If so, this is an excellent
introductory book for you to begin learning
the basics of Cebuano.

The book is titled Conversational English-Cebuano Made Easy, by
Cristina Canonigo, a Filipina who has authored more than 100 books, to date.

An earlier version of
this book, the 2001 edition, is the version I used
to begin learning Cebuano when I first moved to Cebu. It was a
great first book for me. I assure you, if you
spend a few minutes per day with it, you will
begin to learn Cebuano as well.
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